Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Supporter commits suicide for candidacy unification
By Jung Min-ho
A 52-year-old man jumped to his death Wednesday from the 13th floor of his apartment building in Wanju, North Jeolla Province, urging liberal presidential hopefuls Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo to agree on a single candidate to prevent a split in the opposition vote, police said.
He took the drastic action after talks to select a unified liberal candidate reached an impasse due to deep differences of opinion over the method of selection.
The liberal supporter, identified only by his surname, Yu, left a suicide note and a six-meter long and 50-centimeter wide placard calling for the candidacy unification issue to be resolved.
On it was written, “Dear two candidates. Please build a happy welfare nation together with one pulling the wagon while the other pushes from behind for the farmers who suffer despite all their hard work.”
After watching the two candidates’ televised debate during which they exchanged views over key campaign issues, Yu said he couldn’t sleep and decided to commit suicide that night, according to an official at Wanju Police Station.
He was reportedly an avid campaign watcher, though he was not affiliated with any political party.
On Thursday, the Ahn camp expressed sorrow over the incident.
“We offer our deep condolences to the family. We don’t have much to say. We are just very sorry,” spokesman Yu Min-young said in a press release. “We will try our best (to meet his demands).”
Democratic United Party spokesman Woo Sang-ho also expressed his party’s sorrow saying, “We will reach a deal by any means possible to make his sacrifice worth it.”
With the Nov. 26 candidate registration deadline looming and the deadlock between Ahn and Moon continuing to limp on, the two liberal rivals’ Twitter and Facebook pages have been inundated with complaints and messages asking for prompt action.
“The single-minded pursuit of power is no longer a willingness to be a man of power but to be a slave,” a netizen with the ID Sinenmul wrote on Moon’s Twitter account.
Another netizen added, “The most important thing at the moment is to prevent Park Guen-hye from winning the election. But it seems as if the two liberal candidates have forgotten their priorities, hammering each other over sideshow stuff,” on the Ahn camp’s Facebook page.
Despite the stalemate in the talks, neither candidate is likely to give up on the deal since it would end both men’s political careers. Recent poll numbers indicate a landslide win for Park in a three-way contest.
Meanwhile, supporters appear to be running out of patience, holding the two candidates responsible for Yu’s death.
“The two candidates should be ashamed of the fact that an innocent person killed himself asking for candidacy unification. They have to deeply apologize for it,” a netizen with the ID SanjiKil said on Twitter.